Meet Pinoy actor who played 'aswang' in Grimm

By Yong Chavez, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

HOLLYWOOD – A Filipino-American actor recently played the "aswang", a familiar creature in Filipino tales, in the highly rated episode of the television show "Grimm" in US.

Born in Dagupan City, Philippines, Alain Uy moved to the US with his family when he was six. But he never forgot the Filipino tales that he grew up hearing about, including stories about the aswang.

Earlier this year, in NBC's "Grimm," the actor ended up being the first Filipino to play an "aswang" in a major primetime American show.

"It's not often that you get the chance to do something that's really close to home especially in Hollywood, where a lot of the parts are kind of general-Asian kind of thing, and when it's specific like that, specifically Filipino, it was great to read the story," Uy said.

Uy, who was named after Hollywood legend Alain Delon, was a shy kid growing up. It was his brother who encouraged him to come out of his shell by enrolling in a drama class.

"He made me do it and as soon as I got on the stage, I was, like: this is freeing to me. This is something that I felt was inside of me but I just never knew how to get it out," he said.

The actor has appeared in television shows like "Parenthood" and "Sleeper Cell."

Not content with working in front of the camera, Uy is also a writer-director and has worked with music superstar Pharrell Williams and also produces commercials.

"I love to be able to control my own destiny which is why I'm starting to write and direct, and I see that as a way for people like myself or other actors to get out there more and take the control out of their hands and put it into yours," he said.

His latest movie is the award-winning film "A Leading Man" which tells about the struggles that Asian-American actors go thorough in Hollywood.